(A/N): Hey guys! I'm pretty busy, I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in awhile. I'm hoping that I'll get more writing done soon. Fingers crossed! (And toes… and eyes). Hope this is a good chapter.
And also, this story hit 2,000 views! Exciting milestone!
Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own Criminal Minds.
Present day- Markham Police Department...
Reid was outlining the perimeter of the search, going over the guidelines and instructions. Policemen were cramped into the room, scribbling down notes and trying to look over each others shoulders to see the map. Morgan was observing from the corner, jotting down things on a pad. A few minutes after he took Rossi away, Hotch came back into the room, sneaking through the officers and towards Reid. The search grid went out at a ten mile radius, and they were going to expand if nothing was found. Doubt had crept up on Reid when he saw how dense the woods were, but he knew that there were no nearby trails that a vehicle could access, making their radius a lot smaller. "We're going out at 8:00, and the search will go on till the sun starts setting, around 5:00," Hotch said. The officers whispered to each other. "I know that this might seem like too little time, but that's why we need you at your best. Keep your eyes searching, and your ears open. An agent will be assigned to each of your teams. If you see anything, go to them. Now, get some rest." The police officers started to shuffle out. "It's going to be a long day tomorrow."
Kate started to walk into the room, dodging around the officers before arriving at the table. She gazed at the map before saying, "So I talked to the Wilders." She looked up. "Nothing unusual, no strange contacts with any strangers. I asked whether or not their son felt like he was being watched or followed, but they said that they didn't hear anything."
"Which means that they're either terrible parents or our UNSUB is good at his job," Morgan mumbled.
"Well, I asked the two other families whether or not they've seen our UNSUB, they said 'no' as well."
"Then he would have to had blended in enough to be unnoticed, or hid where no one could see him," Hotch said.
Reid said, "He's invisible. Our UNSUB disappeared, and has only been spotted along the trails. There's gotta be a way that he's spying on his victims without being noticed."
Suddenly, Penelope cracked open the door, sticking her head inside with a sly smile. "Garcia," Hotch said, "what are you doing here? Where's JJ?"
Callaghan's head shot up. "Wait, what happened?"
Penelope simply ignored her and explained, "She's still in the room. I'm just giving her some space. I was gonna get some water for her when I overheard your conversation, and I was worried about JJ, but-"
"Baby girl, come one," Morgan interrupted. He raised his eyebrows and Penelope pursed her lips.
"Right, yes, the point. So I did a bit of digging after the meeting a few minutes ago, and I realized that none of the abduction sites had any cameras."
"Wait, what?" Reid asked, intrigued.
"Well," Penelope continued, "we never got footage of the abductions. When I was looking into Josh's case, I thought that it was just plain luck that the abduction was never seen in the lot of the library, but it happened again with Nathan. They were both caught on camera exiting the library, but they never made it to the other cameras."
"What about the other two?" Hotch asked.
"Tyler Nelson's car was found in a vacant parking lot, and Oliver Harper was taken at a restroom stop along a trail. His friends said that he never came out."
"And both of those spots didn't have a camera?" Penelope nodded. "Ok, thanks Garcia," Hotch said. Penelope slid out of the room, leaving the rest of the team alone. Turning back to the group, Hotch said, "Get some rest. We'll meet here at 6:30." The team departed, shuffling around the room to get their files and maps. They flowed out to the hallway, going their way to the hotel.
Search Party- 8:30 am
The sun was starting to rise. Morgan could finally bask in the beams of the light as he walked through the small trail, observing every scratch in every tree, and every rock on every trail. In his group, the officers searched through the woods, staying in their perimeter. He could hear the quiet shuffle of branches, brushing against an officer's jacket, and small chirps from the morning birds, waking from their sleep. But his eyes were purely focused on the search.
They combed the area for what seemed like hours. Morgan's fingers felt like they were frozen, even with his gloves on. He could barely feel his toes, and the peaceful scenery was hardly calming anymore. It was driving him mad. Derek's eyes searched every nook and cranny, every bush, every tree, but still they were there. And their search seemed to be going nowhere.
It was after their lunch break when someone shouted, "I've got something!" Knowing that that voice was close by and in his group, he raced ahead to see a young officer crouching at a bush, holding a dirty jacket in his hands.
Morgan got out his gloves, saying, "What is it?" Crouching down, Derek held out his hand and the officer gave the jacket to him. He saw small blood stains along the sleeves and cuffs, and his hands ran through the tears on the back. Then, the officer gave him a note.
"This was in the pocket." The paper was wrinkled; its corners were worn down, splotches of stains and water blurring out the typed words. Morgan's eyes flew to the beginning. Dear… What is that? Ju… He couldn't make out the rest. But it put a smile on his face nonetheless.
"Good eyes, kid," he said, facing the young officer. "What's your name?"
"Jordan Crowski, sir."
"I'll put a word out for you, Crowski. You did good work here."
"Thank you sir." Patting the officer on the back, Derek grinned, pulling out his phone as he walked down the trail. "Hey Hotch," he said, "I've got something to make your day."
Markham Police Department...
"This is the genie of the dark web, how may I be of assistance?" Penelope quipped, leaning back in her chair as she fiddled with her pen.
"Hey baby girl, I need something." Garcia grinned.
"It depends on what that something is, hot stuff."
"Hey hey now, behave. We found something on the trail.
Penelope huffed. "You're no fun. Fine, whatcha got?"
She heard a bit of rustling from the background before Derek said, "I'm gonna be sending you a picture of a paper that we found. It looks like… an acceptance letter of some sort. The name's a bit blurred out, but it should be clear enough for you to get. I need to get a face from that name, can you work some of that magic for me?"
"Yes sir!" she said, saluting mockingly.
"Thanks beautiful, you're the best." A few seconds after Derek hung up, Garcia got a message on her computer. Squinting, she saw that the ink was slightly smudged, but after a bit of enhancement, name was clear enough to read. "Now what do you have to offer, Julia Bui?"
(A/N): "Enhance… enhance… now we can see the words, even though it's impossible to do that!" Reviews are appreciated!
